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I just got an email from Strikeforce containing a pre-sale password for the Strikeforce Houston event. If you find yourself in the Houston area jones’n for some Strikeforce tickets, and for some reason you are reading this NY/NJ based MMA blog, this is your lucky day.

As a “Strikeforce Insider”, you can purchase your tickets before they go on sale to the general public – An opportunity to get the best seats in the house! Plus, you’ll save $5 Off each ticket purchased! The exclusive presale opportunity for Strikeforce Houston at Toyota Center will take place today, Tuesday, July 13 at until Thursday, July 15 at 10PM/CT online at Toyotacentertix.com or by phone at 866-4-HOU-TIX.

After months of wondering who he will fight , Strikeforce has finally named an opponent for Tim Kennedy. Info below:

American military hero and up-and-coming middleweight, Tim Kennedy, will be opposed by the dangerous Trevor Prangley in one of the featured STRIKEFORCE Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on Wednesday, June 16, on SHOWTIME®.

The first-ever STRIKEFORCE event scheduled for mid-week will take place in the midst of the E3 Expo, the premier trade show for computer and video games. During E3 Expo 2010 at the L.A. Convention Center, EA SPORTS™ will exhibit its highly anticipated title, EA SPORTS MMA, in which STRIKEFORCE is featured as a premier league.

Tickets are on sale at STAPLES Center box office, all Ticketmaster locations (800) 745-3000, Ticketmaster online (www.ticketmaster.com <http://www.ticketmaster.com/> ) and STRIKEFORCE’S official website (www.strikeforce.com <http://www.strikeforce.com/> ). Tickets will also be sold at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE box office on days when events take place there.

A previously announced heavyweight match between Bobby Lashley and Ron Sparks will not transpire. Lashley suffered a knee injury during training.

Both 185-pound fighters – Kennedy (11-2), of Austin, Tex., by way of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Prangley (22-5-1), of Couer D’ Alene, Idaho, via Cape Town, South Africa — have been impressive in recent starts.

The 5-foot-11, 30-year-old Kennedy, a United States Army Special Forces sniper with the 19th Special Forces outfit based in San Antonio, has toured the Middle East multiple times, and earned the Army’s Bronze Medal Star medal for valor under fire.

Inside the cage, Kennedy has won three in a row and 11 of his last 12. In his last outing, he submitted (north-south choke) Zak Cummings in the second round during a STRIKEFORCE Challengers event on Sept. 25, 2009.
Prangley, a six-foot, 37-year-old former South African national wrestling champion and Olympic alternate who turned to MMA after suffering a knee injury in college, is 11-1-1 in his last 13 fights. A five-fight winning streak ended Feb. 26, 2010, when a STRIKEFORCE: Challengers fight he seemingly was on his way to winning against Karl Amoussou ended in a technical draw at 4:14 of the first round due to an accidental thumb to Amoussou’s eye.

Kennedy has split two fights with Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Kennedy’s only other defeat came to Scott “Hands Of Steel” Smith in his pro debut on Aug. 31, 2001.

“I am fighting full-time and still in uniform, which is what I’ve wanted all along,” Kennedy said. “I am looking forward to fighting again against a good, solid wrestler like Prangley, who trains at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.).

“He’s got heavy hands and a good chin. This will be a good fight for me.

Kennedy signed with STRIKEFORCE in 2009 after a two-year break from the sport due to his military commitments. This will be his third start on SHOWTIME for the San Jose-based organization. Before walking through the previously unbeaten Cummings (10-0 going in) in Tulsa, Okla., Kennedy scored a second-round submission (punches) over former BodogFIGHT champion Nick “The Goat” Thompson at Kent, Wash.

“I want to keep winning,” Kennedy said. “STRIKEFORCE has a bunch of guys in my weight class who I match up very well with. I want to fight all of these guys and put on a good show for SHOWTIME and STRIKEFORCE.”
Prangley may not be the most feared fighter in MMA, but he is definitely not one many want to enter the cage with. He’s capable of besting anyone on any given night.

Since his pro debut (as a light heavyweight) in January 2001, Prangley has met some good ones, including “Babalu,” Jorge Santiago (his last loss) and Chael Sonnen. Prangley’s most significant victory may have come against Sonnen.

Prangley has fought for STRIKEFORCE in the past. Besides his last start against Amoussou, he also competed in STRIKEFORCE: Four Men Enter, One Man Survives, the first sanctioned MMA tournament in the state of California on Nov. 16, 2007 and was victorious over Anthony “A Train” Ruiz by way of unanimous decision at the second STRIKEFORCE event at the world-famous Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Sept. 20, 2008.

Doors at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE will open for the event at 5:15 p.m. PT. The first non-televised preliminary bout will begin at 7 p.m. and the first main card fight will begin at 8 p.m.

Posted by lvollmer on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 11:54 am | | | Comments Off on Tim Kennedy finally gets an opponent for STRIKEFORCE; Bobby Lashley off card again

I went and checked out the NY MMA expo this pas Sunday in Uniondale, Long Island. I had a pretty good time and the event seemed like it was a success.

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner, Jens Pulver, Andrei Arlovski, Sean Sherk, and Tim Kennedy were all at the expo signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Clay Guida was supposed to be at the Silver Star Clothing booth, but there was some conflict with his management and another clothing company that was present at the expo, as far as I could understand, and he ended up no showing. He was present at the hotel, however.

Major product lines like Tapout, Silver Star Clothing, and American Fighter were represented at the expo. There were some local businesses who had set up booths with clothing apparel and MMA gear as well. I purchased a lot of apparel and equipment. I got a pair of Windy bloxing gloves and some top contender shin pads. I also bought three shirts, some shorts, and some women’s clothing for my girlfriend. More on that below. There was some martial arts schools and fitness centers present as well. I already have a place to train, so I did not look too much into those exhibits.

This was the booth for 8th Degree Black. They are a clothing line out of Long Island. I had never heard of them, but I purchased a t shirt for myself and one for my girlfriend from this booth. The shirt turned out to be my favorite piece of clothing from the expo. The shirts fit great, are light, and very comfortable. The designs are cool too.

The Silver Star booth, minus Clay Guida.

Sean Sherk signs the Round 5 Sean Sherk toy at the TapouT booth.

People waiting in line for a Sean Sherk autograph.

The bonebreakerz.com booth. I got a tank top/hat set for my girlfriend for 20 dollars. Pretty good deal.

WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner.

One of the larger booths at the expo. I got shin guards from this booth.

Me and Andrei Arlovski.

Tim Kennedy, me. Tim fights Cyborg Santos (the guy) this fall in Strikeforce. Tim was very nice, and we had a good conversation. It continuously amazes me how humble MMA fighters are when it comes to talking with their fans.

Time signed his VIP pass and gave it to me. It is pictured below.

Jamie Varner let me hold his WEC lightweight title. That belt weighed about 25 pounds. It was awesome to hold and ther weight took me by surprise. Jamie signed my UFC Octagon book, and we talked for a bit.

I had a good time all around. As usual, all the fighters were pleasant and very easy to talk to. I hope there is another NY MMA expo in the very near future.

There is an MMA expo in the Long Island Area on Sunday, August 2nd. The purpose of the expo is to try to get mixed martial arts legalized in New York State. New York is one of the few states that has still not legalized sanctioned MMA competition.

Posted by lvollmer on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 5:03 pm | | | Comments Off on New York MMA Expo is this Sunday in Long Island

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About this blog

Web programmer by day, practicing mixed martial artist at night, Larry Vollmer Jr. brings the latest news from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the rest of the mixed martial arts world - a fast-spreading obsession on TV and online. These are the bouts - they occur in an octagon-shaped "ring" - that test men's souls.